Easter Brunch Survival Guide: One-Bottle Cocktails

Did Easter sneak up on anyone else this year? In my house we have one tradition that applies to all holidays: If you’re in my mother’s kitchen cooking, you’re also drinking. I’m easing back into it, after three years of either being pregnant or nursing, but Easter Brunch is the meal I’m hosting this year which means the first round of drinks this Sunday is on me.

Enter my new favorite go-to cocktail guide: The One-Bottle Cocktail. Brilliant for the sheer simplicity of the premise here, I love this book because all I have to do is pop open the liquor cabinet, take a quick stock of what I’ve got on-hand and flip to that chapter. The hardest part of using this book is selecting what you’ll be making because all the drinks look so good.

Neighbors wander over around the dinner hour? Spouse had surprise good news at work? Tiny humans tap dancing on your very last addled little nerve? This book will help you make the most of the booze you’ve got on-hand without too much supplemental work. Spoiler: I am a big fan of any book that does not give me supplemental work. Bonus for taking added pressure off on the morning of a major holiday, a day when most of my family will be beating a path to my door in the early hours of the day, expecting to be fed and soused.

Which drink is the book’s author Maggie Hoffman partial to? “I particularly love batchable options like El Gallito,” she told Easy Parenthood. “It’s a big-batch fresh mix you can whip up in your blender and strain, and the resulting liquid is a very light, slightly spicy spin on the Bloody Mary.” Sounds like the perfect Easter Brunch addition, if you ask me. “And there’s a bonus,” Hoffman revealed. “You’ll strain off the liquid and mix it with vodka (or reposado tequila), and the solids left in your strainer are actually a delicious salsa! Tell your guests to bring chips.” A breakfast-friendly cocktail that serves a crowd and also gives us something delicious to spoon over our eggs? That drink has a standing invitation to my table. Cheers!